Crises can reveal weaknesses and the spread of the coronavirus pandemic has made clear the lack of visibility many businesses had into their offshore suppliers and manufacturers and exposed the fragility of their supply chains. It was a sobering wake-up call 30 years after many companies expanded their supply chains abroad to take advantage of much lower costs.

This call for greater supply chain resilience and traceability has led many businesses around the world to consider moving pieces of their supply chain back to local regions.

This paper will cover the benefits of localising a supply chain as well as major costs to consider, potential barriers to relocation, and the steps a business should take if it decides to onshore.